Dallas Cowboys: Jeremy Mincey deserves contract extension

The Dallas Cowboys officially start training camp Thursday, but one player who will be missing due to contract talks is someone the team needs on their field as soon a possible.

That player is defensive end Jeremy Mincey, as he’ll be needed in the team’s defensive end rotation this season, but as camp is about to begin, he will not be reporting with the rest of his teammates.

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Does Mincey deserve more money and years, as this is the reason for the hold out?

Yes, but he really needs to be at camp as well, especially with the Cowboys not having Greg Hardy the first four games of the regular season and second-round draft pick Randy Gregory entering his rookie season.

There is also Demarcus Lawrence, who will be entering his second season with the team, though he missed a majority of the year with an injury.

Other defensive ends currently on the Cowboys’ roster are: Kenneth Boatright, Jack Crawford, Lavar Edwards, Ben Gardner, Efe Obada and Ryan Russell.

We can all easily agree Mincey needs to be at camp, as he is no less than the fourth best defensive end on the team.

Andie Hagemann of NFL.com wrote this of Mincey and his contract situation:

"“Mincey signed a two-year deal with the Cowboys last year and started in all 16 games, racking up a team-high 6 sacks — which exceeded the total sacks he accumulated in the previous three seasons combined. He previously played for the Broncos, Jaguars and 49ers.”"

Currently, Mincey is the 70th highest-paid defensive end in the NFL, so I can see his point of not wanting to report because of the money involved, but on the other hand, he did sign a deal just last season where he agreed to whatever the terms were on the contract.

Is Mincey better than what he’s being paid? Yes, but I doubt he’s the only player in the league in that category.

In 16 games last season, not only did Mincey have the aforementioned six sacks, but he totaled 36 combined tackles (19 solo) and had one fumble recovery. Those 36 tackles was his highest total in a season since 2012, which happened to be the last time he played a full season in the league. In that ’12 season, he had 41 combined tackles and three sacks.

The playoffs last year saw Mincey total two sacks, force a fumble, recover a fumble and have nine combined tackles in two games played.

Could the best situation be for both parties be a three-year deal? The Cowboys can’t give him any longer than three seasons since he already has eight years in the league. He’s been in the league since the ’07 season, playing in 82 total regular-season games in his career, so there is some wear and tear built up over those years.

I believe Mincey will help make a difference again this season with the Cowboys, especially when the players who are suspended are off the field the first four games of the season, but again, they can’t break the bank with him, either.

For all parties involved, the sooner a deal is worked out, the better it will be for Mincey in his preparation this season, and the better it will be for the Cowboys so they can get their rotation at defensive end prepared for the first four weeks of the regular season.

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